Ricciardo concedes truth behind Brown performance comments

Ricciardo in Jeddah — Photo: © LAT Images

McLaren

Ricciardo concedes truth behind Brown performance comments

Brown suggested Ricciardo hasn't lived up to expectations at McLaren

Ewan Gale

Saturday 28 May 2022 10:30

Daniel Ricciardo has conceded McLaren CEO Zak Brown's comments on his time with the team not living up to expectations are "pretty true".

The Australian moved to the Woking-based outfit at the start of last season with the hope he could use his race-winning experience to carry the team forward.

Yet despite victory in last season's Italian Grand Prix, team-mate Lando Norris has largely been the more impressive driver.

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This year, Ricciardo has again struggled to adapt to new machinery, leading Brown to claim after Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix that the partnership had so far fallen short of expectations.

Asked as to what he thought of Brown's comments, the former Renault, Red Bull and Toro Rosso driver who has a contract through to the end of 2023, said: "Well, it is not false. It is pretty true.

"Comments, I don't take personally. My skin is tanned, beautiful and also thick.

"No one is going to be harder on me than myself, and I don't want to be racing around in 10th, 12th places. I still believe I can be at the front. I belong at the front.

"It has been a little bit more testing at times in terms of trying to get up and maximise myself in this car but we are working together hard at it and the team wants it, I want it, so we are just working through it."

Ricciardo - Drivers can have the power to make difference at Monaco

F1 has returned to Monaco this weekend, a circuit where Ricciardo has claimed two pole positions and a victory, all from his time at Red Bull.

But whilst the venue could have provided some much-needed respite for the McLaren driver, a high-speed crash at La Piscine conspired against him in second practice.

The incident meant Ricciardo was unable to complete any qualifying simulation runs around the twisting streets, leaving him firmly on the back foot for the rest of the weekend.

But insisting all was not lost, Ricciardo said: "[FP1] was good.

"Lando had a good FP2 by the look of it, so we can bounce back."

Additional reporting by Ian Parkes